3/16/2006 @ 12:28PM

The Best-Paid Athletes

Andre Agassi

Age: 35

Sport: Tennis

Earnings: $26.2 million*

Despite recent injuries and time off, the 35-year-old, eight-time Grand Slam champion isn’t ready to give up. Of course, his quarterfinal performance at the 2005 U.S. Open–he lost in five sets to fellow American James Blake–proved he doesn’t need to. While the talent is still there, Agassi’s logo has changed. After sporting the Nike swoosh for well over a decade, the tennis sensation signed a long-time partnership with Adidas in July 2005.

Lance Armstrong

Age: 34

Sport: Cycling

Earnings: $28 million*

He may be a seven-time Tour de France winner, but it is Armstrong’s high-profile split with fiancé and Grammy-winner Sheryl Crow that gets all of the attention lately. The recently retired cancer survivor devotes much of his time to his philanthropic pursuits.

David Beckham

Age: 30

Sport: Soccer

Earnings: $32.5 million*

Soccer’s golden boy left Manchester United for the riches of Real Madrid in 2003. And though his new team has been unlucky on the field, the star midfielder is still soccer’s highest-paid player off the field. Indeed, Beckham earns $24 million from endorsements.

Kobe Bryant

Age: 27

Sport: Basketball

Earnings: $28.8 million*

Despite a public image that took a beating due to a rape charge that has since been dropped and a high-profile feud with former teammate Shaquille O’Neal, the L.A. Lakers star can still wow. Earlier this year, Bryant scored an astonishing 81 points against Toronto. Feats like these explain why Nike launched a signature shoe, dubbed Zoom Kobe I, for him.

Lindsay Davenport

Age: 29

Sport: Tennis

Earnings: $6 million*

Davenport may lack the charisma of some of her competitors, but her tennis ability more than makes up for it. She rounded out 2005 ranked No. 1 on the female circuit for the fourth time in her career. And thanks to sponsorship deals with Nike, the three-time Grand Slam champion is cashing in off the court as well.

Oscar De La Hoya

Age: 33

Sport: Boxing

Earnings: $38 million*

Boxing’s Golden Boy has only a few more bouts in him–and multimillion-dollar ones at that. First up, Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya will face WBC world junior middleweight Ricardo Mayorga at the MGM Grand in early May.

Matt Hasselbeck

Age: 30

Sport: Football

Earnings: $22.8 million*

Only a year after signing a six-year, $49 million contract, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback led his team to the conference championship, which they won 34-14. Sadly for Hasselbeck, the son of former New England Patriots tight end Don Hasselbeck, the team’s good fortune ended there–the Seahawks were beat 21-10 by the Pittsburgh Steelers at Super Bowl XL.

LeBron James

Age: 21

Sport: Basketball

Earnings: $22.9 million*

James, who skipped college to go pro in 2003, has proven his all-star ability with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Between his astounding stats and a hefty endorsement portfolio–which include Nike, Upper Deck and Coca-Cola–the 6-foot-8 forward earned close to $23 million. Of course, his wallet is sure to grow even thicker when he renews his contracts next year.

Derek Jeter

Age: 31

Sport: Baseball

Earnings: $25.5 million*

Over the last ten seasons, Jeter leads the league with 1,924 hits–and the all-star shortstop is far from finished. Indeed, the Yankee captain is about to start his fifth year of a nine-year, $189 million deal.

Walter Jones

Age: 32

Sport: Football

Earnings: $23.2 million

He may not make many headlines, but Jones, an offensive tackle with the Seattle Seahawks, certainly makes remarkable plays–and remarkable money. In fact, after the 2004 season, he signed a seven-year, $52.5 million contract with the current NFC champions.

Phil Mickelson

Age: 35

Sport: Golf

Earnings: $26.8 million*

Mickelson, the world’s fourth-ranked golfer, comes in just behind Tiger Woods when it comes to cashing in on–and off–the golf course. Among Mickelson’s lucrative endorsements: an $80 million deal with clubmaker Callaway after winning the 2004 Masters. Mickelson added a PGA Championship title to his list of victories in 2005.

Shaquille O’Neal

Age: 34

Sport: Basketball

Earnings: $33.4 million*

O’Neal, or simply “Shaq,” seems at peace in the Florida sun, playing for the Miami Heat–at least that’s what the much-hyped handshakes and hugs with nemesis and former teammate Kobe Bryant indicated earlier this year. Despite a recent ankle injury, the 7-footer proves he’s still in the game after some 13 seasons in the NBA.

Manny Ramirez

Age: 35

Sport: Baseball

Earnings: $24.2 million*

Thanks to Ramirez–and other Red Sox greats–Boston fans will never again be subjected to the “1918″ heckling. Coming off the 2004 World Series win, the all-star slugger added another 45 home runs to his record last season. Ramirez is revving up for the sixth year of his eight-year, $160 million contract.

Alex Rodriguez

Age: 30

Sport: Baseball

Earnings: $27.5 million*

Rodriguez, better known as A-Rod, wears his Yankee uniform well–of course, any uniform should fit if you’re being paid some $25 million per year to wear it. Sponsorship deals with Pepsi, Atari and Nike add still more to the third baseman’s earnings.

Ronaldo

Age: 29

Sport: Soccer

Earnings: $23 million*

There’s a reason the Brazilian soccer star has been dubbed O Fenômeno (“The Phenomenon”)–and it has much to do with his speed, dribbling and ability to score. As a forward for Real Madrid, Ronaldo is cashing in on both his talent and his pretty face.

Valentino Rossi

Age: 27

Sport: Motorcycling

Earnings: $28 million*

Rossi, winner of the motorcycling world title for the past five seasons, has quickly become one of Italy’s most popular athletes. Rumor has it the motorbike hero may switch over to Formula One when his Yamaha contract expires at the end of the season.

Michael Schumacher

Age: 37

Sport: Auto Racing

Earnings: $60 million*

Schumacher, a seven-time Formula One world champion, is coping with difficulties. For the first time in six years, he kicked off a racing season without a number one mounted on his Ferrari. The German racing legend watched his income drop as Ferrari struggled with new rules and tire problems.

*(50.5M euros, 2659.2M rupees, 34.8M pounds, C$69.7M, A$82.1M)

See Michael Schumacher and other members of the Ferrari team in the 2006 F1 Driver’s slideshow on ForbesAutos.com.

Maria Sharapova

Age: 18

Sport: Tennis

Earnings: $18.2 million*

The world’s best-compensated female athlete, Sharapova’s shown she’s got game–with or without her tennis racket. The 6-foot-tall Russian has a Wimbledon title and laundry list of endorsement deals, which include Nike and Tag Heuer.

Annika Sorenstam

Age: 35

Sport: Golf

Earnings: $7.3 million*

Sorenstam, the world’s top-ranked female golfer, kicked off her 2006 LPGA season with a win at the MasterCard Classic–her second consecutive season-opening victory and her 67th career title. Sorenstam draws checks from Lexus and clubmaker Callaway as well.

Michael Vick

Age: 25

Sport: Football

Earnings: $37.5 million*

Vick’s tremendous athleticism and explosive style draws a crowd for the Atlanta Falcons. But his reckless style of play and propensity for injuries over the past few seasons raised questions about the team’s landmark ten-year, $130 million deal to retain him.

Serena Williams

Age: 24

Sport: Tennis

Earnings: $12.7 million*

Life is never dull for the Williams sisters. Indeed, the younger of the sister duo has a clothing line and a budding acting career–and that’s on top of her seven Grand Slam singles titles. The tennis diva has endorsement deals from Nike and McDonald’s as well.

Venus Williams

Age: 25

Sport: Tennis

Earnings: $6.5 million*

A grand slam win at the 2005 Wimbledon championships put the older of tennis’ Williams sisters back on the map. And thanks to McDonald’s and American Express–among other corporate sponsors–Venus Williams is making money as well as headlines. In November of 2003, Williams launched her own interior design business, V Starr Interiors.

Tiger Woods

Age: 30

Sport: Golf

Earnings: $87 million*

After a brief rocky period–Woods did not win a major in 2003 or 2004–the golfing sensation returned to form during the 2005 PGA Tour season. Among his many feats, Wood’s broke his majors “drought” with a win at the 2005 Masters–his fourth Masters victory and tenth major golf championship.